Show Us How You See The World

The 2nd annual LensCulture Street Photography Awards invite you to show us how you see the world! We want to discover today's finest street photographers who capture exceptional moments of life in all of its vibrant forms. Our global reach has never been larger, as our audience has grown to more than 2.5 million. Thus, your entry into our Street Photography Awards comes with many opportunities for international exposure and recognition: whether it's having your work seen by photography industry insiders or projected at international festivals, as well as appearing in the new
Best of LensCulture 2016: 150 Award Winning Photographers
photobook to be distributed and sold worldwide. You're invited to participate, engage and show us your streets!

Closed for new entries.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Street photography can take many forms: from candid, unexpected street portraits to brilliantly seen geometries within the built environment; anything from dazzling street fashions to gritty scenes of urban life the world over all fall into the genre.

To help inspire your entry, we have curated a selection of great street photography work drawing on last year's winners and some of our latest discoveries. We will continue to update this showcase throughout the summer as new work comes to our attention.

Street Photography Awards 2016 Jury

Marcel Feil (1968) is deputy director, artistic affairs at Foam in Amsterdam, and one of the editors of Foam Magazine, the international photography magazine published by Foam. Since 2002 he worked as curator at Foam and organized a wide range of historical and contemporary photography exhibitions, varying from solo exhibitions, group shows and theme exhibitions. Prior to his current position, Feil worked at the Dutch Foundation for Visual Arts, Design, and Architecture; and The Amsterdam Center for Photography, curating small exhibitions with work of young emerging photographers, organizing lectures and the educational program.

Bronwen Latimer is the deputy director of photography at The Washington Post. Before joining The Post, she worked as a book editor at National Geographic and at US News & World Report. She also served as an associate photo editor at TIME magazine where she received the 1998 POY editing award for story about Steve Jobs. In 1994, she worked as an editor for the book, A Passage to Vietnam. From 1989-1992 she was an assistant photo editor at Sports Illustrated concentrating on the Olympics. Ms. Latimer earned an MS degree in Journalism from Columbia University in 1989.

Photographer Enrico Bossan has been leading editorial projects for years, discovering young talents, teaching and serving as a mentor. Since 2005, Bossan has been head of Photography at Fabrica Research Centre, and in 2006 was appointed Editorial Director of Colors Magazine. Since January 2014, he has been in charge of Editorial at Fabrica, as well. Bossan curates exhibitions, installations and performances, and oversees the FFF Award. As Editorial Director at Fabrica, he has also published a series of books and multimedia projects. Having started his career as a photojournalist 30 years ago, Bossan's works have been published in important international magazines, and he has published 10 photobooks of his own work. He also serves as curator for various festivals around the world.

Celia devises the strategic and artistic direction of Photoworks and the Brighton Photo Biennial.

Recent projects have included the inaugural Jerwood/Photoworks Awards 2015, Brighton Photo Biennial 2012 & 2014. Forthcoming projects include a co-commission with Focus Festival Mumbai as part of Re:Imagine India funded by the Arts Council England and HOUSE 2016.

Celia was previously Head of Exhibitions at the De La Warr Pavilion, 2002-2009. Other projects include The British Library by Yinka Shonibare (2013) and Brighton Palermo Remix by David Batchelor for Brighton Festival (2012), This Storm is What We Call Progress by Ori Gersht (2012), Imperial War Museum, London and curated projects include Myth, Manners and Memory: Photographs of the American South including Walker Evans, William Eggleston, William Christenberry, Carrie Mae Weems, Susan Lipper and Alec Soth (2010), Beuys Is Here co-curated with Anthony d’ Offay (2009), Kenneth and Mary Martin, Constructed Works (2008) and Jeremy Deller (2006). Commissions include Mumuration Rinko Kawauchi and Brighton Picture Hunt Alec Soth (2010).

She is co-editor of Photoworks Annual, visual art advisor for HOUSE festival and Chair of Blast Theory.

Matt Stuart is a British street photographer, a member of the In-Public street photography collective and one of the newest nominee members of Magnum Photos. As well as making his personal work, he works as an advertising photographer and leads street photography workshops.

Stuart's book of street photography, All That Life Can Afford (2016) includes photographs made in London from 2002 to 2015. He was also featured in the 2010 book and travelling show, Street Photography Now. His work has been published in a number of survey publications on street photography, and exhibited in solo exhibitions in Britain and the US; as well as included in group exhibitions in Britain (including at the Museum of London, which acquired his work for its permanent collection, and which travelled to the Museum of the City of New York), France, Bangkok and Stockholm.

Matthew Tucker is the picture editor at BuzzFeed UK. Working with the growing London-based team since 2013, Matthew covers news, entertainment, lifestyle and photo essays, along with original photography and commissions. Before BuzzFeed, Matthew trained as a journalist and worked on the Huffington Post UK picture desk and created online content for BSkyB entertainment shows.

Jean-Jacques Viau is manager of digital marketing for Leica Camera, the internationally famous maker of cameras and lenses. He has initiated and nurtured vibrant social media communities for Leica Camera, which now operate worldwide in many languages. Jean-Jacques has been curating the Leica blog since its launch. In an earlier position with Leica, among many other duties, he managed Leica’s relationships with photography students and younger professional photographers worldwide.

Jim Casper is the editor-in-chief and publisher of LensCulture, one of the leading online destinations to discover contemporary photography from around the world. As an active member in the contemporary photography world, Casper organizes annual international photography events, travels around the world to meet with photographers and review their portfolios, curates art exhibitions, writes about photography and culture, lectures, conducts workshops, serves as an international juror and nominator for key awards, and is an advisor to arts and education organizations. He serves on the board of directors at SPE, the Society for Photographic Education, the world’s largest association of photography educators.

The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street.

*Submission Review:
Available for all Series entries and 5+ Single entries

**Editors' Picks:
During the competition, LensCulture's editors will curate hundreds of entries for immediate exposure to our global audience through the competition gallery and our Facebook page.

Awards & Benefits

Awards

As part of our dedication to discovering the best of contemporary photography, we have expanded our award categories to recognize a greater number of talented photographers. We will be awarding winners, finalists, special selections from each juror, as well as a new “Top 100.” Read more about each below.

JUROR’S PICK:
Each juror will select an individual Juror's Pick to receive special distinction and $1,000 USD.

FINALISTS:
20 Finalists will be selected.

LENSCULTURE TOP 100:
This is a new award category that distinguishes the Top 100 photographers based on the jury's reviews. All the work from the Top 100 will be included in our Street Photography 2016 Online Exhibition.

San Francisco Exhibition

Winners, Finalists, and Jurors' Picks will have their work exhibited at SF Camerawork, a nationally recognized organization promoting emerging artists in the photographic arts. With a 40-year history of supporting work not shown at commercial galleries or in museums, SF Camerawork is a celebrated exhibition space in the Bay Area and beyond the United States, reaching a global audience of photographers and collectors.

Projections At International
Photo Festivals

We partner with 50 photo festivals from around the world to show our award-winning photographers' work year-round. Winners and Finalists in the 2016 Street Photography Awards will be shown at a selection of festivals from our growing list of partners this year, which include: FORMAT International Photography Festival, Voies Off Arles, Krakow Photomonth, Brighton Photo Biennial, Copenhagen Photo Festival, Photomed, Athens Photo Festival, Circulation(s) Photo Festival, Tokyo International Photography Festival, Cortona on the Move, Medium Festival of Photography, Brighton Photo Fringe and many more.

Published in
The Best of LensCulture 2016:150 Award Winning Photographers

We'll be partnering with Schilt Publishing house to produce an annual volume of all our award-winning photographers. The LensCulture photo book will feature the winners from our Exposure, Portrait, Street and Emerging Talent awards alongside their winning images. This unique collection of photographic work will be available for purchase and distributed worldwide. Schilt Publishing is the leading publisher of World Press Photo Foundation and FotoFest and their books are distributed worldwide by top class distributors: Ingram Publisher Services, the Centraal Boekhuis and Thames & Hudson.

LensCulture Network Membership

Winning photographers and Jurors' Picks will receive membership to the
LensCulture Network, our invitation-only community of internationally recognized photography talent. LensCulture Network members benefit from access to our full range of services, along with entry into all of our annual competitions at no additional cost. Visit the
LensCulture Network
page to see how membership empowers photographers both creatively and professionally.

Visibility With Industry Insiders

We are now connected to over 3,000 photography industry insiders around the world including top photo editors, book publishers, gallery owners, festivals directors, agents, curators, online media publishers, and many more. LensCulture has become a key resource for these professionals to discover new work from photographers all over the world. This kind of industry-wide exposure is critical for both emerging and established photographers—all it takes is one set of eyes to change the future of your career.

International Press Exposure

Each year, LensCulture award winners receive a variety of press coverage from publications and media outlets around the world. Winners, finalists and entrants have been featured in such major publications as BBC, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Spiegel Online, TIME Lightbox, The British Journal of Photography, The Telegraph, among many other national and international media outlets. This kind of press exposure can lead to viral, global recognition of your work.

Massive Exposure to our 2M+ Global Audience

Winning images will be showcased in the Street Photography 2016 Online Exhibition, accessible by photography-lovers all over the world immediately after the results are announced as well as long after the competition closes. Selected photographers will also be published in feature articles on LensCulture's home page and published across LensCulture's social media and editorial channels. We have found this to be a very effective strategy for getting photographers exposure that leads to career-building opportunities — see our
Success Stories.

Immediate Exposure Opportunities

The sooner you enter, the better your chance to be selected by LensCulture's editors for immediate exposure in our Competition Gallery, which is seen by our global audience. Some of these entries selected by the LensCulture editorial team will also be shared across LensCulture's online channels – our web site, mailing list, mobile platform, and social media channels. Access to additional opportunities and resources to share your work and gain recognition and exposure are provided to all participating photographers.

Free Submission Review
by Industry Professionals

We know how important critical feedback is to fine-tuning your work, and we want you to feel as confident as possible every time you submit to a call for entry. Enter a series or 5+ single images in the Street Photography Awards 2016 and you'll receive a free submission review. Our submission reviews include recommendations for improving your practice and preparing your work for competitions, grants, juried exhibitions, and other calls for entries. We have over 100 trusted and qualified educators, photo editors, curators, publishers, gallerists, and other industry professionals who provide meaningful critiques and actionable feedback on your photography.

Read what LensCulture's community of photographers is saying about Submission Reviews:

I really have to say thank you (BIG TIME!) to the LensCulture team: first of all, for the submission review I received after the LensCulture Award — it really helped me to re-edit the 8 pictures for the World Press Photo Award submission, where I then won 2nd prize! Second, for the publication of this story on the front page of LensCulture. Your article went online just a few days before the judging process, so it's very well possible that that was also helpful for convincing the jury. Keep up the great work at LensCulture, you do an amazing job for photographers and the photography world!

– Christian Bobst

See Christian’s full review »

Not in my wildest dreams did I expect such a positive response! Thank you! It gives me validation to continue on my Photographic journey, always being honest and true to what I see and feel. Besides this, it was also very encouraging and thorough in critique of each image. Also noted and appreciated were all the relevant and further reading links. Thanks so much.

– James Niven

See James’s full review »

I found the comments most perceptive, precise and accurate. I will certainly bear them in mind when resuming this project (or other projects of a similar stylistic profile). I appreciate the fact that the reviewer meticulously analysed all the technical details of the photos, as well as the general idea underlying the whole series. Thank you very much!

LensCulture's Commitment to Education

We believe student photographers should have access to the best tools and services to help them elevate their photography practice and prepare their work for international exposure and recognition—even before they graduate. The LensCulture EDU Program provides photography students with resources and tools for creative and professional development including:

Free Student Portfolio Account to showcase their work

30% discount on their entry into the Street Photography Awards

Opportunity for global exposure in the LensCulture Student Gallery

Educators and students can visit
LensCulture EDU
to learn more about our program and register for a free Student Portfolio Account.

Participate. Engage. Share. Connect.

We're on a mission to find the photographers who are best able to capture surprising, memorable, inspiring, candid, delightful or spontaneous moments out in public spaces all around the world. These Awards aim to recognize unique, authentic and personal points of view from professionals, amateurs, students and emerging talents everywhere. Enter our 2nd annual LensCulture Street Photography Awards now!

Enter Early!

Photographers Moving Forward

We believe that competitions are some of the best ways for photographers to gain valuable international exposure and connect with the photography industry. LensCulture's dedication to helping photographers move forward has helped to jumpstart careers and inspire a community of over 2.5 million across the globe to participate, engage, share, connect and learn. Here are just a few examples from previous LensCulture winners and finalists of how these awards have impacted their careers:

Poike Stomps

The Netherlands

Rich, vibrantly photographed street crossings in all 42 of Europe's capitals. A simple concept that resonated deeply with our global audience after being recognized in last year’s Street Photography Awards.

Sander Troelstra

The Netherlands

Driven by a passion to understand humanity through portraiture, Sander Troelstra travelled to South Africa to photograph his “Children of the Night.” His commitment to his craft is inspiring—hear the rest of his story.

Floriane de Lassée

France

Listen to Floriane de Lassée, Emerging Talent 2014 winner, tell her inspiring story about traveling around the world to photograph the loads that people carry—a journey filled with discoveries and surprises.

Kurt Simonson

United States

Kurt Simonson spent over 10 years working on his "Northwoods Journals," a photographic journey into his ancestral narrative. Learn more about this magical series and also how Kurt was able to share his story with the world.

Richard Tuschman

United States

Originally a painter and printmaker, Richard Tuschman combines his passions in realizing these perfectly constructed dioramas, inspired by the work of Edward Hopper. Hear more about the work and the career-changing impact the Exposure Awards had on his career.

Elena Chernyshova

Russia

In this video, hear Elena’s thoughts about her long-form documentary project, Days of Night, Nights of Day, and what happened when the story went viral, reaching over 738K people in just a week. It’s a unique story that grips people from the start.

Kirsty Mitchell

United Kingdom

Visual Storytelling 2014 winner Kirsty Mitchell shares "Wonderland," the stunning fictional narrative she just completed. See what happened after her LensCulture win was announced: it's a beautiful story on every level.

Ellie Davies

United Kingdom

Ellie Davies transforms the woodland spaces around her home into a wondrous studio, through which we can become re-acquainted with nature, trees, even the stars. Learn more about her unique work and how her career took off.

Kerry Mansfield

United States

Two-time LensCulture Finalist Kerry Mansfield talks about her amazing experience of fighting breast cancer as well as the origins of her latest series, Expired. Kerry's photographs are as powerful & inspiring as her story.

Joshua Rashaad McFadden

United States

Joshua Rashaad McFadden

After Selma

Juror's Pick,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

A lot has happened since becoming one of the Emerging Talents in 2015! I have won additional awards, including an International Photography Award (IPA Award) 1st place: Social Cause for "After SELMA". I also won the Society of Photographic Education Award and Scholarship (South East Region) for After SELMA. I have traveled all over the USA doing talks about After Selma. I have been accepted into the New York Times Portfolio Review 2016.

Niki Boon

New Zealand

Niki Boon

Childhood in the Raw

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2015

Since being selected as finalist in the Exposure Awards this year, I have had requests from various international websites and publications to feature my work, which has allowed me to have some valuable exposure. This competition was the first I have ever placed in and it has given me the courage to enter more over the course of the year—which has allowed for further exposure of my current body of work. I want to thank LensCulture for providing a wonderful platform for this. It has certainly given me the exposure and confidence to take my pictures elsewhere.

Steve Scallone

Australia

Steve Scallone

Untitled

Finalist,
Street Photography Awards 2015

It has been an amazing year as I’ve won a few awards and presented a solo exhibition in Sydney, Australia called "Into the White". I also ended up winning the 2015 Australian Travel Photographer of the year (National Award) and the 2015 Victorian Professional Photographer and 2016 Victorian Travel Photographer of the year (State Awards). Love what LensCulture is doing...fantastic!!

Denny Renshaw

United States

Denny Renshaw

Street Stories

Finalist,
Street Photography Awards 2015

Last October, I was shooting on the street in Tokyo when I received the email stating I was a finalist in the LensCulture Street Photography Awards. This good news was a substantial encouragement for me to continue towards my goals in street photography. Before being recognized by LensCulture I had not shown my street photography to anyone outside of a few close friends. Since winning, my work has received a lot of attention and I have made many new friends within the street photography community.

Camille Michel

France

Camille Michel

The Last Men

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

After being published on LensCulture, my work received a lot of attention — the good news came one after the other! I received other awards such as "Sony Photo Magazine" award and the "30 Under 30 Women Photographer 2016." The project was published in magazines, books, as well as in newspapers such as La Croix (France), CityZine (China). The series was exhibited or projected in several places in France, England, Argentina, United States, Italy, Turkey, Brazil, and Russia. And my work will be exhibited at the Filature Scène Nationale de Mulhouse in France in 2017 for my first major personal exhibition! So, thank you to LensCulture, as the award enabled me to get introduced to many interesting people, to spread my work, and to pursue my projects.

Thomas Kiefer

United States

Thomas Kiefer

El Sueno Americano Project

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

A high-profile photo agency saw my work and contacted me within a week of the announcement of the Emerging Talent awards. Since then, my project has been featured in magazines and publications in Europe, Asia and other markets that I never could have imagined. The project continues to grow in stature and visibility due directly to the Lens Culture recognition. I almost didn't enter the competition because of that familiar refrain of self-doubt. So thanks to LensCulture for what you do!

Hans Gindlesberger

United States

Hans Gindlesberger

Weighing the Rain: Portraits

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2014

After the LensCulture Portrait Awards, my project was published in BLOW magazine as part of their "Monochromes" issue—I believe the editors found that work through LensCulture. In addition, a piece from a companion series just appeared at the Medium Festival of Photography in San Diego where it won the Director's Choice award. In all, LensCulture has been a terrific outlet for my own work along with being a go-to resource as an educator. Thanks for everything you do in helping to make so much great work visible and accessible.

Sian Davey

United Kingdom

Sian Davey

Looking for Alice

Juror's Pick,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

It's been a very good start to the year. The Kickstarter for my book went very well and "Looking for Alice," was published in November to great success. It was in both the The Guardian and Telegraph (UK) top 10 photo books' list...I have to say—because of the LensCulture Session I had with you guys, it got me thinking about how I shoot in the winter and it resulted in a whole body of work photographing teenagers in the night without flash. So thanks for that!

Sandra Pereznieto

Mexico

Sandra Pereznieto

Back to Silence

Finalist,
Street Photography Awards 2015

Back to Silence was featured at the Slideshow Event for the exhibition “LIFE: Life A Journey Through Time" at the Annenberg Space for Photography in March 2016. This one-night special program highlighted the work of photographers who examine a variety of topics related to the overall theme of the exhibition. The project was also featured at Xataka Foto, where both Spanish photographers that were finalists of the Street Photography Award were published.

Tony Corocher

Italy

Tony Corocher

Beauty in Hell

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2014

The award has given me incredible exposure, not only in my country, but internationally. LensCulture was one of the first and main awards that "Beauty In Hell" received, and it definitely helped to give credit to the project and to my work in general. Thanks to your exposure, I was invited to quite a few solo and group exhibitions in different countries and it helped increase the value of my prints and photobooks. Also I've been contacted by the Wall Street Journal who asked to do an article about "Beauty In Hell," and publish all 20 photos.

Alan Thomas Wilkie

Norway

Alan Thomas Wilkie

The War Veteran

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2014

Doing what you love most is an important thing for me. But it is even better to know that your work is being recognized. After being named a finalist, I began to get that recognition. The award was a huge opportunity and gave me powerful motivation: it increased web traffic and led to more likes and followers on social media. I am still a humble amateur but I plan on working my photography genes as far as they can go and will be using the LensCulture community as a motivational source for future development.

Franky Verdickt

Belgium

Franky Verdickt

The South Street Village

Series Winner,
Exposure Awards 2014

LensCulture is great — it's become a reference for photography and through its awards, you can make yourself shown to the world. If you want to get inspired or to see good work or just to know what's going on, LensCulture is a very good place to be.

Bela Doka

Hungary

Bela Doka

Fan Club Putin

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2014

Thanks my exposure on LensCulture, my series "FC Putin" got a 2nd life. Years after the series was first published, I saw a huge surge of renewed interest. Overnight, I was contacted by publications all around the world. Even now, I'm using the interest in the series to draw more attention to my latest work.

Eugenio Grosso

United Kingdom

Eugenio Grosso

Heavily Loaded

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

Since I won the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards, my series "Heavily Loaded" won the Flash Forward Magenta Foundation 2015 and has been featured in its catalogue. The work has also been shortlisted for the BarTur Photobook Awards in 2015 and I had the chance to present it at The Photographers Gallery in London...To win the LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards gave me high visibility and now I can see the results. I am glad I applied for it and would definitely do it again.

Philipp Englehorn

Hong Kong

Philipp Englehorn

Qingdao Beach

2nd Place Series Winner,
LensCulture Portrait Awards 2015

In just three weeks since the announcement, Photo District News (PDN) picked up my swimmer series for online usage. S Moda Magazine, a suppplement to El País journal in Spain, asked me for some images too. I used my 2nd place win for a general promotion email to all my clients and magazine contacts, which led to a job with Afar Magazine!

Kurt Simonson

United States

Kurt Simonson

Northwoods Journals

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

It's been a really busy and fantastic year...biggest of all, my "Northwoods Journals" book was released in November! It's been mentioned in a few year-end / best of list — most notably by Photo Eye, Lenscratch and Flak Photo. Also, just yesterday, American Photo featured the project on their front page! So that's just a few things...all very exciting!

Carlotta Cardana

United Kingdom

Carlotta Cardana

Mod Couples

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

A popular monthly magazine really liked my project about Native American pride in LensCulture, and they have decided to commission me to go back and shoot more. So exciting, I still can't believe it! ALSO I have seven images from the Mod Couples series in The Eyes Collection #1 exhibition (thanks to LensCulture, obviously!).

Katrina Kepule

Latvia

Katrina Kepule

Sit Silently

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

Since I was selected, I have received unparalled attention. My series was published in several websites from across the world—Gosee, Aint Bad, and Juxtapoz, to name just a few. I was invited to participate in the Angkor Photography Festival (Siem Reap, Cambodia), the Kaunas Photo festival (Lithuania), as well as in a Latvian photography collective.

Vincent Gouriou

France

Vincent Gouriou

Singularity

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2014

After the LensCulture Portrait Awards, I participated in many collective exhibitions: from “Mois de la Photo” in Paris to many events around the world: Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards), Bulgaria (European Month of Photography), and Netherlands (Pride Photo Awards). My series was published in magazines and international websites and I now freelance regularly for French national newspapers and magazines. Finally, some images in the series were acquired by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) and Maison Européenne de la Photographie. In short, my photographic career continues to grow and evolve and I have met many interesting people in the photography world.

Frances Denny

United States

Frances Denny

Let Virtue Be Your Guide

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

Just in the last 6 months or so, I went on press for my first monograph—a book of my series "Let Virtue Be Your Guide" that will be released by Radius Books in May 2016! I also had my first solo exhibition at ClampArt in NYC in November 2015 (and receiving ongoing representation with the gallery). Finally, I went on to win the PDN 30 for 2016 as well.

Tetsuya Kusu

Japan

Tetsuya Kusu

American Archives

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2015

I had some successes after I received the LensCulture prize: A commercial gallery in Japan asked me to exhibit my work in May 2016—they are a very famous photo gallery in Japan. They will deal not only my prints but also publish my photo book. Thus, I have a big chance to make my career as an artist next year, going to Photo Fever in Paris with them and then go to business across the United States. All thanks to LensCulture!!!

Sandra Hoyn

Germany

Sandra Hoyn

Fighting for a Pittance

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

Last year I won World Press Photo, 3rd prize singles, nature category. I was also a winner at the HIPA in Dubai and have been short-listed for the Sony World Photography Awards. There may be more, but I'm not allowed to tell now. After the ceremony... ;-)

Marjorie Salvaterra

United States

Marjorie Salvaterra

Her

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

Well, you got me at the right time! I have my first book, through Glitterati publishing, coming out this April 2016. It’s called "HER: Meditations On Being Female." So, thank you for all the great work you do!

Joan Alvado

Spain

Joan Alvado

School of Shepherds

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

Just after LensCulture published my work, I received an inquiry to publish the story in the Washington Post InSight photo section. Thanks to that, a filmmaker from NYC found me and proposed to make a movie about the School of Shepherds—we are into filming that movie right now! So the exposure has been high and produced real restults very fast.

Tsutomu Yamagata

Japan

Tsutomu Yamagata

Thirteen Orphans

3rd Place Series Winner,
Portrait Awards 2014

After the announcement, my work was featured on Huffington Post Italia, Artist Database Japan, Rinse, and more. I can't count how many times I was reblogged and shared on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr. The sales of my photography book increased in the USA. It hit the weekly best-seller list on photo-eye books. This autumn, my work will be featured in the international photo festival "La Quatrieme Image" in Paris. My work will be known all over the world—all thanks to LensCulture.

Adrien Tache

France

Adrien Tache

West African Studio Photographers

Finalist,
Visual Storytelling Awards 2014

Realizing that my work had been noticed among hundreds of professional, high-quality works surprised me a lot — but it was such a good reward after all those hours I spent on the project. The award has helped me a lot in terms of visibility! Just after the official announcement, my work was featured in Il Post (Italy), Hyperallergic (US), La Reppubblica (IT). I was also interviewed by Mull It Over? (UK). Since then, it has been shown at festivals in Georgia, Slovenia and France! So a lot of good news, and it started with LensCulture—thanks a lot!

Ali Mobasser

United Kingdom

Ali Mobasser

Afsaneh: Box 3

Winner,LensCulture Emerging Talents 2014

“Stern magazine has just contacted me and want to publish my aunt's ID photos series. They saw it on LensCulture. As my wife is German and I love Stern, this is great news!!!! Later, a Russian online mag approached me and did an interview about me and the piece. They saw it in LensCulture of course! All this attention has given me the confidence to go to the next step of making a book!”

Andreas Olesen

Denmark

Andreas Olesen

Estate

Grant Winner,
Emerging Talent 2014

Being chosen resulted in an immediate, huge jump in the amount of attention my work receives. I was photographing on a small island north of Sardinia when I got the news, and by the time I got back to my computer, my inbox was flooded with mails from well wishers and print purchase inquiries. Within a few weeks, I had gotten several interview requests, a publishing request and hefty jump in traffic (double, in fact) on my website.
Now, I am organizing an exhibition of the work in California and I think that winning the award definitely helped me secure this show.

Andrejs Strokins

Latvia

Andrejs Strokins

People in the dunes

Winner,LensCulture Emerging Talent 2014

“What can I say about such joyous news? It’s a pleasure to finally join the ranks of those who grace the pages of your fine publication. I couldn’t be happier. Thanks to you LensCulture, I’ve received a lot of attention and also some purchase requests for work. More news to come!”

Anne Berry

United States

Anne Berry

Behind Glass

Finalist,LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

“Since I won the award, my photographs have been published in the Huffington Post, PetaPixel, Viralnova, and Feature Shoot.”

Antoine Bruy

France

Antoine Bruy

Scrublands

Winner, Emerging Talent Awards 2014

“2014 has been an amazing year for me, and winning made it even more exciting. After the award, I received a lot of propositions for exhibitions and publications. For example, Sunjung Kim showed my work at the Seoul Lunar Photo Fest. Thus, LensCulture gave me one of the most important things when you are a photographer—a bit of recognition—something that helps a lot in continuing to believe in what you do.”

Birgit Püve

Estonia

Birgit Püve

A Tale of the Lake

Finalist,
Exposure Awards 2014

During the very same evening that the results were announced, I received many e-mails and a feature request from Verve Photo, The New Breed of Documentary Photographers. Another one of my series has gained a lot of attention since then and I am being contacted by photo editors of online and paper magazines. Fotografia Magazine and OSTSEE Magazine have published the project — and more to come. I am really happy and thankful to LensCulture that my work is seen on such a great platform with wide audience. Many exciting things are happening!

Candace Gaudiani

United States

Candace Gaudiani

Forty Eight States II

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2012

Being named a finalist in the LensCulture Exposure Awards for the project "Between Destinations" made a huge difference in helping my exhibitions and publications come into fruition. In short, it was a “stamp of recognition” for my work. Thank you, LensCulture! The support keeps me inspired!

Candace Karch

USA

Candace Karch

Ms. Ulmer: 90 Years an Artist

3rd Place Series Winner,
Portrait Awards 2015

I have been working on the pages of this book for a long time and FINALLY with this win I am getting the attention I need to move forward—and it is keeping me motivated!! After the winners were announced, Feature Shoot Magazine interviewed me for their blog and The Guardian also contacted me to feature my website and the “Ms. Ulmer” series in an online gallery. My hope is to find a publisher and get this book in print by the end of the year! And as an extra bonus, I will have Ms. Ulmer at the book signing.

Claire Felicie

Netherlands

Claire Felicie

Here are the Young Men

Finalist,
LensCulture Exposure Awards 2011

Winning a LensCulture award did a LOT for my career. When LensCulture published my whole series, requests for publishing came in from all over the world. Among them were the Daily Mail and the Huffington Post. I found that LensCulture is highly respected and to be published and featured there opens doors with galleries and museum curators. So, for me it is very important that my work is to be seen on such a platform with such a wide audience.

Daesung Lee

South Korea

Daesung Lee

Futuristic Archaeology

Winner,Visual Storytelling Awards 2014

“After receiving a LensCulture Visual Storytelling award, I was contacted by “Courrier International” a French weekly magazine! My work will be published on the 8th of January. Thanks a lot, again, to LensCulture. It is very worthy to apply for awards on LensCulture.”

Daisuke Takakura

Japan

Daisuke Takakura

monodramatic

Winner,
Visual Storytelling 2014

My work “monodramatic” was featured in U.S. news site Mashable! It was shared by over 2.2k people. What a nice surprise. It’s thanks to you and the LensCulture team.

Dayna Bartoli

Norway

Dayna Bartoli

Florafaunal Angiography

Finalist,LensCulture New & Emerging Photographers 2013

“My biggest success that came as a direct result of submitting my photos to LensCulture was seeing my work published in Harper’s Magazine! One of my photos was featured on LensCulture’s Facebook page before the contest results were even announced and it was seen by someone at Harper’s. Harper’s contacted me and asked if they could publish 3 of my photos. They ran in the July 2013 issue! It felt amazing to see my photos in every newsstand across the US. It would not have happened without LensCulture.”

Debi Cornwall

United States

Debi Cornwall

Gitmo at Home, Gitmo at Play

Finalist
Visual Storytelling Awards 2014

Many thanks to everyone at LensCulture for recognizing my work and offering me your platform for wider exposure! As you can see, it has helped to catapult my work before a worldwide audience, including showing at the 2015 Belfast Photo Festival opening June 6, being shortlisted for the Festival Images Vevey Photography Award and the 2015 Athens Photo Festival, and showing my first solo exhibition, opening at Fovea Exhibitions in Beacon, NY on June 13.

Douglas Ljungkvist

United States

Douglas Ljungkvist

Ocean Beach

Finalist,LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

“I got a lot of FB Likes and increased web traffic. Also, lots of folks were really impressed with me being Finalist which goes to show the respect people have for LensCulture.”

Fabrice Fouillet

France

Fabrice Fouillet

Eurasism

Finalist,LensCulture Exposure Awards 2013

“One jury member, Regina Anzenberger, offered me representation in her agency. I will be featured online in GUP Magazine. And I’ve seen a significant increase in traffic to my website. Not to mention the happiness it brings me to be a LensCulture Finalist.”

Fulvio Bugani

Italy

Fulvio Bugani

Waria: Being a Different Muslim

Finalist,
Portrait Awards 2015

Regarding my latest success: my whole work has been published on TIME LightBox. I've been invited to take part in some photo festivals, such as Lucca PhotoLux. I've also been contacted by Amnesty International to do an exhibition with them in Rome during a summer festival. And I'm now collaborating with the Leica Store in Bologna who will exhibit my work in July.

Greg Kahn

United States

Greg Kahn

3 Millimeters

Winner, Emerging Talent 2014

“Since the award, my project "3 Millimeters" has been published on the Weather Channel, in the Washington Post and in Baltimore magazine. I am going to have a solo exhibit of the work at the Vivid Solutions Gallery in Washington, D.C. in May of 2015. And finally, I was commissioned by Audubon Magazine to do a sea level rise story in the Outer Banks in North Carolina (not yet published).”

Heidi Woodman

United Kingdom

Heidi Woodman

Gold Fever

Finalist,
Visual Storytelling Awards 2014

A lot has happened since the announcement! First, I was selected for the Photobook 2014 exhibition, and shown in a group show in Hudson, New York at the Davis Orton Gallery, as well as at the Griffin Museum of Photography, where the book "Gold Fever" is on show. One of my images was also selected for Photofusion Salon/14, and shown at the Photofusion Gallery in Brixton, London. I've been published on Andrew Sullivan's The Dish, had an interview on foto39 and noticed hundreds of blogs/reblogs about the work on Tumbler. As a result of this exposure, I saw huge increase of traffic to my site, and I have almost sold out of my first run of books.

Ian Hughes

United Kingdom

Ian Hughes

Floodlit Football Grounds of Sussex, England at Night

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2015

Being named an Emerging Talent in 2015 was the best thing that has happened to me in my 30 years as a photographer. Before that, my pictures had only really been looked at by friends, family and occasionally been shown in various publications...but I woke up one morning to messages from friends congratulating me on having my photos in their UK morning newspapers like Metro and The Daily Mail. They went viral online overnight. Gemany's two main magazines Spiegel and Stern both ran long interviews with me about them and so did Grazia in France. I recommend anyone who is serious about their photography to enter this year's competition. It really does provide much needed exposure and the LensCulture team are extremely supportive. I can't thank them enough.

Ioana Cirlig

Romania

Ioana Cirlig

Post-Industrial Romania

Series Winner,
Exposure Awards 2014

Being one of the winners and getting published on LensCulture was great because it offered my work immense visibility, more than I've ever had. The award gave me a lot of confidence and motivation. It's the first international award I received and it is great to know that my pictures can be presented alongside amazing, diverse work from photographers I admire.

Jessica Hines

United States

Jessica Hines

My Brother’s War

1st Prize, Portfolio Category,LensCulture Exposure Awards 2010

“LensCulture is wonderful. It is an excellent source of innovative photography and I highly recommend it. Winning their 1st Prize got me more exposure than just about anything else I’ve done. I received hundreds and hundreds of hits to my website and they still come through to this day. I also met some wonderful people through it. I have only good things to say about them. Go for it!”

Joana Choumali

Cote d'Ivoire

Joana Choumali

Hââbré, The Last Generation

Winner,
Emerging Talent Awards 2014

So many great news came about since last year...many opportunities, exhibitions, trips, meeting interesting people. I was part of the LagosPhoto Festival, Casablanca Biennale and Photoquai Biennale in Paris, to name a few. I was interviewed on the Huffington Post and Elle Magazine in South Africa and featured in Le Monde. Finally, in November, Instagram featured my account on their blog and interviewed me about the vision that I have about my city. I am happy and grateful for what is happening to me, this motivates me to work more. My photographs got an international audience, and this helps me to show my works, open conversations, and explore the world through art and photography.

Jorge de la Torriente

United States

Jorge de la Torriente

From Above

Winner,LensCulture Emerging Talents 2014

“THANK YOU for giving us winners all this exposure! This is the reason I enter competitions. LensCulture has proven to be one of the best organization that I have been involved with...I am working on some new images to add to my “View from Above” series that will be released during Art Basel Miami!”

Jürgen Novotny

Germany

Jürgen Novotny

Camera Selfies

LensCulture Editors' Pick and Featured Article

In November 2014, my project was named an editors' pick. In December, there was a front page article. Then things really started picking up! CNN editors contacted me for an article, followed by LUI magazine, 500px, PetaPixel and La Repubblica.it. Next were the German newspapers and German television channel SAT1—which produced a short movie about the topic "selfies" and "CameraSelfies". Now, the project is being published in major German photography magazines like PROFIFOTO, which will feature the work on its cover as well as with 8-page portfolio. But it all started with your editors' pick and feature last year. From then on, the project has been truly viral on the internet and it's this attention that has led to interest from photo magazines, online galleries and publishers around the world. So, thanks to LensCulture for all the possibilities it has opened up for me and my photography!

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